Monday, December 22, 2008

"Stories are light. Light is precious in a world so dark." - The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

The movie, The Tale of Despereaux, just opened in theatres this weekend. Behind the movie is the 2004 Newbery award winning book by the same title written by acclaimed author Kate DiCamillo. If you or your children have not read the The Tale of Despereaux yet, I encourage you to do so. It is a wonderful book that deserves to be read.

For the record, I am not a big fan of mice. I dislike rodents. This is one of the reasons that I have cats. But, there are exceptions. Despereaux is one of them. It is hard not to like a sickly little mouse with obscenely large ears that loves music, stories, and princesses. It is even harder not to fall in love with this unlikely hero - one brave little mouse, the knight with a shining needle.

Divided into four books, The Tale of Despereaux tells the intertwined stories of it's main characters, Despereaux Tilling, Chiaroscuro (Roscuro) and Miggery Sow. Despereaux is an outcast in the mouse world. He breaks mouse laws by befriending and loving the Princess Pea. For this he is banished to the dark dungeon. Roscuro (the light-loving, dungeon-dwelling rat) and the beautiful Princess Pea despise each other due to an unfortunate incidence involving soup. Because of this, Roscuro seeks revenge against the princess. His accomplice, Miggery Sow is a slow, abused little girl who unwittingly gets pulled into his terrible plot. It is up to Despereaux, the brave little mouse with a big heart to set things right and bring about a happily ever after.

The deeply engaging book works as a great read-aloud and is often used as a teaching tool in elementary schools. There is much to ponder and discuss, from the use of light and dark in relation to good and evil to the unusual vocabulary terms like "perfidy." The characters experience a gamut of feelings, from hatred to forgiveness. Children's books don't get much better. The black and white illustrations throughout by Timothy Basil Ering help bring a vintage, fairy-tale quality to the book. However, the book is correctly marketed for children ages 7–12 and is not for younger children. The character Miggery Sow experiences violent handling, and the book has many dark moments that made me, even as an adult, incredibly sad. I will not be reading this one to my preschooler but eagerly wait the future when she is ready for a story such as this.

Win your own hardcover copy! Candlewick Press has kindly offered to sponsor a giveaway. One (1) Brimful Curiosities reader will receive a hardcover copy of the original The Tale of Despereaux.

To enter, visit the Candlewick Press -Despereaux page and leave a comment letting me know which other Despereaux related book looks interesting.

• For contact purposes, if you are a non-blogger or your email is not accessible in your blog profile, please leave a valid email address within the comment section. • Contest is open to US only • Contest ends on Wednesday, January 7, 2008 at 11:59 PM CST.• Winner will be chosen at random

Three ways to gain extra entries (Maximum total entries is 4):1st extra entry: Follow Me! or subscribe by email or RSS reader2nd extra entry: Blog about this contest then post your link in the comment section.3rd extra entry: Follow me on twitter (iambrimful) and tweet about the contest.

Wow! Yet another great book giveaway. I love it here. I do believe I would enjoy reading The Tale of Despereaux: The Mouse and the Princess with my daughter. We've decided to start 'chapter' books after the New Year. Thanks so much for the opportunity.

Oh what a fun giveaway!! This is going to sound strange, but one of my cousins is good friends with Kate, the author. We had Easter brunch with her at my aunt & uncle's last year and boy is she ever sweet!! She was so great with my 2 kids - they absolutely loved her!! My husband is a teacher and she's sent autographed books for his class, which was a HUGE hit!! BUT, we don't have this book yet!! We'd love to win it - and as for another book that sounds like fun, my kids would LOVE the "The Tale of Despereaux Glow-in-the-Dark Sticker Book". Great, great giveaway!!

Thanks so much for introducing your blog at the kidlitosphere. And thanks for sharing more about this book -- I was wondering what age level it's right for. My husband and I watched Ratatouille and we loved it but it's also too heavy for preschoolers.

I checked out the site and we like all kinds of books -- hardcover or paperback. Hardcover is more durable, paperback less heavy to read in bed! I guess I'd pick hardcover for a great book so it will have a longer life with 3 boys!

Thanks for the info and the giveaway. When I saw the previews for the movie, I wondered if it was a book first (seemed too good NOT to be). If I was the winner, I would go for the original version -- I am a stickler for reading books in the first, unblemished form (though anything that gets a child to read is fine by me.)

My kids would like the glow in the dark sticker Despereaux book but what would make them come back and back to the story would be the Deluxe Picture Book. They love the interaction books like this provide.

I would love to own this book. We just finished reading "The Boxcar Children", we need a new one to start! Other than the feautured book, I think my son would like "The Tale of Despereaux Deluxe Picture Book". Thanks for offering. jamaisew[at]gmail.com

Although we have yet to read the Tale of Despereaux (or see the movie, which I plan to take the kids to this weekend), I know they'd love The Tale of Despereaux Glow-in-the-Dark Sticker Book. Anything that combines stickers with glow-in-the-dark has them hooked!

About Me

Brimful Curiosities is a mom blog/book blog featuring reviews and posts on children's books, music, educational products, toys and more. It's home to the weekly "Full to the Brim" Kid's Book Giveaway List. Occasionally it includes non-children related product and book reviews and personal postings.